cycleing specific gym work

furby

Anyone train in the gym specificly for cycling?

I mainly ride XC and are going to be having a go at racing this winter.

I need to be in the gym several times a week anyway so thinging about how I can tailor my sessions for improving cycling.

What routines are people using?

Wooliferkins

I tend to do core strength work in the gym, with some upper body work which cycling is no help with. Before I cycle commuted I used to do some leg strength as well.

adam.hales

Squats, squats and squats...
depends what you want to gain from ur gym sessions?
resistance training will improve your strength/power to weight ratio... in turn supplying ur muscles with explosive energy!!!

build up slowly with the weights so not to put urself off by not being able to move the next day!!!
day1
squats- a weight you can lift easily 10 times, repeat the exercise x3
walking lunges- use light/medium weight dumbells and do 15 each side (30 steps) x1
1 leg romanian deadlift with a light barbell (10x3 again)
day2
single leg extensions (alternate between left and right) 15each side and repeat x2
single leg curls (as above)
calf raises

should be a good start

utspan

Surf-Matt

I find bodyweight biased exercises ideal for helping cycling. They limit the weight you lift and do core muscles too. Plus trail running.

Make sure you stretch a lot too.

militiacore

Nothing beats regular sessions out on the bike and if you use a familiar route then trying to push out a slightly tougher gear on the flat or up hill every so often will ultimately help you become faster.

It's hard to hit real specific gym work for cycling but you'll benefit from some basic upper body work like weighted Push Ups, Pull Ups, Chins and Dips starting with just your body weight if required before using a weight to increase difficulty.

For Legs I'd choose Box Squats over a standard Squat as they require you to be more explosive and demand more activation of the key muscles used for Squatting. Your form is more likely to be better with less of a tendancy for the lower Back to become involved. The greatest benefit though is that muscle recovery from a Box Squat is quicker than that of a standard Squat so you'll experience less fatigue and impact on your cycling.

The other movement I'd look to try is Glute Ham Raise or Glute Bridge which targets hip drive and good Hamstring activation.

Lastly Standing Calf Raise will help Calf musckle strength and is especially useful for utilising ankle drop through a pedal stroke when trying to get more drive uphill for example.

Paul 8v

http://www.mtbstrengthcoach.com/

I read the free download of this a while back, quite usefull, if you sign up you get it sent through